1. IS THE BIBLE TRUSTWORTHY?

1. IS THE BIBLE TRUSTWORTHY?

By 3AM

In this series of articles to follow over the next several months, I will be making some very bold and at times, what some would most probably perceive as awkward or offensive, statements… Nothing could be farther from the truth… The aim of these is not to offend anybody, but rather to share with everybody… I myself, among many others, have not only found this information to be historically accurate, but also archaeological fact. Having said that, I would like to start off with this…

If we are not willing to die for something of value, what value is there in living?…

In the dark Middle Ages, which we today, perceive to be ancient past, an estimated 50 000 000 – 100 000 000 people were willing to die (horrendously) for a book.., but not just any old book…

WHY?..It must have contained something of value … Have our values as a people changed that much in our so-called Postmodern Age?..

What is it about the Bible that sets it apart from any other book?…                             

The Holy Bible is transculturally popular, more so.., than any other book ever written (best-seller worldwide)… Sadly, it’s hardly being read anymore … What we need to remember, is that Christianity originated as an Eastern religion and that it, with the passing of time, became “Westernized”… The Bible consists of 66 books, written by 35 – 40 authors over a period of approximately 1600 years and spanning across 3 continents. Its internal consistency makes it impossible, one might say, for it not to be inspired by Almighty God Himself… Think about that for a moment?

Claims being made today suggest that the Bible had been changed, manipulated, inaccurately translated and/or corrupted and that there can be found in it, no validity but …

In 1947 one of the most amazing discoveries of modern times were made concerning the Old Testament of the Bible. About 2000 years ago, in the location surrounding the Dead Sea of ancient Palestine, a group/community of Jewish believers who separated themselves for reasons unknown, “hid” or stored parchments/scrolls of literature in caves in the area. They are today known as the Qumranic community. Legend has it that a young boy, tending to his father’s flock in the area, threw a stone into one of the nearby caves and was startled by the sound of something breaking inside. He then ran back to the village elders and after closer investigation, jar upon jar of these ancient writings in them were found. Among these were portions of all the books (excluding one, being Ester) of the Old Testament. After being compared to the Hebrew scriptures we have of the Bible (Masoretic texts) today, the consistency between them is just astounding. The same goes for the New Testament in Greek, found several years ago … I must admit that some of this sounds very fictional, but wait until we start getting into Biblical  prophecy later in the series.       

The Holy Bible is without a doubt the best preserved, accurate and most important piece of literature we have today. Please allow me to state clearly that I am not saying this, only because I am a Bible believing Christian.., or because it speaks about times past, but rather because it contains the necessary keys to what is to come in future. This is a Divinely inspired book and that means that it comes from an Entity not constrained by time and space. Thus, by the Creator of time, space and everything that goes along with it.

NO other religious book on this planet has this prophetic element in it… Not even the Qurán. So-what!, you may say…

The purpose of Biblical prophecy is:

*           To set the God of the Bible apart as the only true God                                                 

*           To accurately reveal the future, thus proving that we can trust God

*           To reveal to the hearer the thoughts and priorities of his/her heart

*           To introduce us to Jesus Christ and to make us aware of our need of Him.

2 Peter 1

About 30% of the Bible consists of prophecy and this can further be divided into classical and apocalyptic prophecy. The “simplest” examples of apocalyptic prophecy are contained in the books of Daniel in the Old Testament and Revelation in the New. I quoted the word simplest, because they are everything but.., not saying that they are incomprehensible though… It is just that the one goes hand in hand with the other and that the book of Revelation, by itself, will never make sense to the reader … This book consists of 404 verses of which more than 270 come directly out of the Old Testament. What I am trying to get at here, is that “the Revelation of Jesus” was written (approximately 100 years after His birth) in symbolic language and that one has to find the meaning of its symbols in the Old Testament.

The core of the word “Revelation” means to reveal or uncover. What this should be telling us, is that the revelation/revealing of the information it contains, cannot be done without consulting the Old Testament, especially the book of Daniel.